Advanced Setup Guide
The Advanced Setup Guide is a comprehensive article aimed at those who have familiarised themselves with the basics of creating a setup and are around mid to late game progress. In this page, the topics of Upgrade Counters, Machine Tags, Hydraulics and Platforms are covered. Additionally, more complex setup types are discussed towards the end of the page. Other Setup Guides: Beginner Setup Guide Expert Setup Guide Tag Types Upgrade Counters An upgrade counter (or upgrade tag) is a variable that is associated with ores and upgraders. Ores can have an initial upgrade counter which is used to prevent certain droppers from being used in cell furnaces due to their high ore value, or as variables in an upgraders stats. While most droppers produce ores that have an upgrade counter of 0, some can have different values which can range from the negative (Gargantium Mine) to the positive (Diamond Breech Loader). These values set the very foundation of what upgraders you can use, as some upgraders (Jagged Enhancer, Ore Magnifier) have limited use in accordance with upgrade counters. For example, a Jagged Enhancer's ore value multiplying effect can only happen if the ore has an upgrade counter of 2.8 or less. Furthermore, the Jagged Enhancer itself will increase the upgrade counter on the ore by 1.4 to prevent being able to loop this upgrader. It can potentially be looped several times because it does not have a machine tag. Another special case of upgrade tags is the Ore Illuminator or Ore Indoctrinator as both of these items rely on the change of upgrade counters in order for the ore destruction property to execute. Side note: in Miner's Havens source code, upgrade counters on ore are represented by its reflectance, which explains why ore appear incredibly dark after passing through numerous upgraders. A single Arcane Lightning can turn an iron ore completely black because of its 120 upgrade counter, or +6 reflectance. Machine Tags (and Resetting Devices) Machine tags are different from upgrade counters as they are used to prevent upgraders from being used infinitely. Each upgrader that has a machine tag also has its own unique name for it, with some upgraders sharing the same machine tag (Portable Upgraders); this explains why you cannot stack Portable Tractor Beams with Portable Ore Stoppers, or Reborn items with their Evolved variant. In the unique case of the Spectral Upgrader, machine tags are used as a variable in its stats. The very concept behind resetting devices is that they remove all machine tags from other upgraders and add their own. The current resetting devices in the game are the Black Dwarf/Void Star, The Ultimate Sacrifice/Final Upgrader and the Tesla Resetter/Refuter. Because resetting devices apply their own machine tag, they cannot be used again, and you cannot use their predessor/successor either because their machine tags are the same. The Ore Negator, Vulcan's Grasp and Vulcan's Destiny are currently the only upgraders with unremovable machine tags, and thus can only be used once no matter what. New Heights Hydraulics Hydraulics are a conveyor elevation added in the New Heights Update. They serve as an incredibly powerful tool when building vertical setups, allowing ores to go up into the sky in conjunction with platforms. Only certain items are defined as hydraulic and thus can be raised higher than that of a Way-Up-High conveyor, such as the Empyrean Monument or Hydraulic Freefall-Upgrader. When placing these items down, the user is also prompted with a GUI element that tells them they can press 1 to lower and 2 to raise the height of said item. Anti-Gravity Anti-Gravity is a special type of conveyor elevation that combines both the functionality of hydraulics and weight. By turning the ores incredibly light with the use of an Anti-Gravity Device, they shoot upwards and "stick" onto an Anti-Gravity surface. This effect does not work with ore that are too heavy, such as those from a Gargantium Mine as the anti-gravity effect is not strong enough. Platforms Platforms allow the player to build up their setup in a vertical manner as items can be placed at greater heights than with only hydraulics alone. Platforms do however have a few drawbacks as items cannot be placed inbetween them due to how the game is coded. Also, there is no real limit to how many platforms you can stack on top of eachother, but rather there is a certain height until you are no longer considered in your base which is the real limiting factor. Platforms can prove incredibly useful when creating CENT setups as they allow extra room for items. They can also prove useful when used with items that require height, such as the Empyrean Monument or Tsar Bomba; moving ores off of platforms and into a Cannon-required upgrader can prove more consistent than using an Ore Cannon/Collider as they are not affected by ore density. With the addition of Hydraulic Platforms, they can be adjusted to a variety of heights which can fit a multitude of purposes, for example allowing space for vertically-large items like the Crystallized Engine or Crystal Altar. Setups Line Line setups tend to be used frequently by many players during their first several hundred lives because they were not lucky enough to get a Dragonglass Mine and a Dreamer's Anguish. These setups are easy to build as they tend to only use a single lines worth of items, hence the name. Usually feature the users most powerful mine, their most powerful upgraders and, of course, their most powerful furnace. Line setups are also quite versatile as adding teleporters means more lines worth of upgraders. Advantages: * Easy to build * Quick rebirths * Versatile; can use multiple lines worth of items * If set up correctly, does not require shop items Disadvantages: * The longer the setup is, the more clogged your ore limit becomes (unless you're using blasters) Star loop Star loops are a mix of using money-limit upgraders and loops; a distant cousin to the basic loop setups in the first few lives. Instead of money-limit upgraders from the shop, you're now using money-limit upgraders in the form of stars which are acquired by rebirthing. Because of how star items are designed, they require the player to utilize an Ore Cannon or something similar in order to use effectively. When the ores are finished looping in a star upgrader, they can be brought toward a different direction in which they pass through a multitude of usage-limit upgraders and end in a furnace of the users choosing. Advantages: * Easy to setup * Easy to skip lives using this setup Disadvantages: * Black Dwarf/Void Star cannot be used * Requires player interaction * Difficult to keep flaming property under control/requires fireproof ore for consistency Blaster loop Similar to other loops except a portable blaster item, such as a Dragonglass Blaster or Dragon Blaster, is looped in order to boost initial ore value. Usually a large amount of ore is inserted and then looped until only a few are left, at which point the user redirects them towards a chain of usage-limit upgraders and then a furnace. Advantages: * Boost initial ore value * Can be used as a substitute for star loops; Black Dwarf/Void Star can be used * Can be used as a small boost for CENT setups Disadvantages: * Relies on random chance * Requires player maintenance Resetter loop One of the more end-game setups used by players. What's unique about this setup type is that it can be automated, so the player does not have to interact with anything once their setup has loaded. By using teleporters and replicators in conjunction with resetting devices, the original ore travels toward the furnace while its copies are sent back towards the start of the setup where it loops through usage-limit upgraders once again. Advantages: * Can be automated * If set up correctly, can grant the player incredible amounts of money Disadvantages: * Uses up a lot of space * Can max out ore limit if ores are input too frequently (each ore makes 6 copies) * Takes a long time to build compared to other setups Category:Other Category:Guides